How to Revive Gulf Fishing

The writers’ call for a “vision of coastal restoration,” rather than just a cleanup of the gulf oil spill, is an inspiring idea. Unfortunately, the benefits for shrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico would be quickly lost amid open-access fishing, which drives the industry’s historic excess capacity, inefficiency and poor returns.

For a better outcome, government officials should help shrimpers make the transition to a management system based on exclusive, transferable fishing rights. This would create incentives for establishment of an economically viable shrimping industry, with less accidental killing of valuable fish and sea turtles in its trawls.

Compared with the price tag for restoring the Mississippi Delta — $17 billion, before Hurricane Katrina and the oil spill — the cost of a management transition would be minuscule. And it would not expose the marine ecosystem to the risks of large-scale restoration.